μManager: Open Source Software for Light Microscope Imaging

Abstract

No longer are biologists content to peer through the oculars of a microscope. Eyes have been replaced by digital cameras. Instead of manual control of microscope stages, filters and light sources, modern microscopes have become fully robotic. Image acquisition and robotic movements require computer control. With such equipment it is possible to automatically record images at multiple wavelengths, carry out time-lapse recordings of living cells using very short exposure times and low light doses, and even to record images at multiple positions (e.g. from a multi-well plate) without operator intervention. Clearly, computer control of light microscope image acquisition is making many new experimental imaging strategies possible in the biological sciences.